The Smiling Tiger and the Drunken Rabbit

The question was unexpectedly direct.

Shi Ji’s movements faltered for a fraction of a second. He lowered his eyelashes and took another sip of the tea; the warm liquid did its best to soothe his racing heart.

“Mr. Ji is very sharp.” Shi Ji curled the corners of his lips. “I heard you grew up abroad. It seems you learned quite a lot there.”

He looked up at Ji Shichu. The man was still staring at him, his deep red eyes as thick and dark as blood. Upon hearing Shi Ji’s words, Ji Shichu let out a soft chuckle.

“As far as I know, Mr. Shi is famous for being straightforward,” Ji Shichu said, his eyes suddenly turning cold. “I wonder what kind of matter has led Mr. Shi to start playing these convoluted little games?”

As he spoke, Ji Shichu lightly tapped his jade thumb ring against the table. Shi Ji’s heart sank. He knew he couldn’t keep dancing around the subject; the man in front of him was even shrewder than he had imagined. As they locked eyes, the atmosphere turned scorched and tense.

“Fine, I’ll be blunt.” Shi Ji gripped the lid of his teacup, using the movement to hide the cold sweat on his fingertips. “Does the auction item Mr. Ji is handling next month include a Top-tier Omega?”

Ji Shichu narrowed his eyes. “Mr. Shi is well-informed.”

“Oh, you misunderstand. My subordinate happened to hear about it,” Shi Ji stated candidly. “Specifically… an artificially cultivated Top-tier Omega?”

Ji Shichu lowered his gaze, thinking for a few seconds. He took a sip of tea and let out a noncommittal “Mm.”

“Is Mr. Shi interested in that Omega?” he asked.

“Yes,” Shi Ji replied, interlacing his fingers on the table. “But I’m not interested in the Omega itself. I’m interested in the artificial cultivation.”

The sudden shift in focus made Ji Shichu arch an eyebrow. A glimmer of genuine interest appeared in his eyes.

“Artificial cultivation of Top-tier Omegas is a top-secret experiment, making information extremely hard to come by. From what I know, the test subjects were converted from low-grade Omegas into Top-tier ones.” Shi Ji paused. “That would mean… changing their genes?”

He stared unblinkingly at Ji Shichu, not wanting to miss a single flicker of emotion. If Ji Shichu was trading with the organization, he had to have a channel for information.

Between the news of the first artificial Omega and the report of a six-year-old boy starting a fire, there had to be a connection. The Omegas, the organization, Li Chen’s dead parents, and Shi Ji’s own sudden loss of control—the pieces were starting to align.

Ji Shichu blinked slowly and whispered, “Since Mr. Shi knows it’s top-secret, how could people like us know anything about it?”

He dodged the question entirely.

“However, if Mr. Shi is truly interested…” Ji Shichu dragged out his words, “you should come to the auction next month.”

He clapped his hands. A waitress in a cheongsam entered and handed Shi Ji a dark red envelope.

“This is the invitation. The date is the 15th of next month.” Ji Shichu’s gaze turned meaningful. “I look forward to your presence.”

By the time Shi Ji left, the sun was sinking, and the orange glow was fading into a hazy, deep blue.

He sat in the car, rubbing his aching brow. “Turn it off,” he muttered to the driver, who had the radio on. The silence that followed was heavy.

As the car pulled into the villa district, the driver suddenly slowed down. “Mr. Shi, there seems to be someone up ahead.”

Shi Ji put his glasses back on. At the villa gates stood two figures—one tall and one short. The tall one was Jiang Mo. The shorter one was… crouching on the ground.

Shi Ji stepped out of the car.

“Brother!” Jiang Mo waved immediately.

Suddenly, someone yanked Jiang Mo’s hem. The Omega standing next to him, his face flushed bright red, stood up unsteadily and mumbled, “He’s not your brother!”

Li Chen staggered, nearly falling. He pushed Jiang Mo’s arm away, muttering, “This is my brother…”

“Fine, fine,” Jiang Mo held Li Chen’s shoulders to steady him. “I’m not going to steal him.” He looked at Shi Ji with a helpless expression. “Um… Li Chen is drunk.”

Shi Ji stepped closer and was immediately hit by the pungent scent of alcohol. He stared at the boy’s flushed face. Li Chen stared back, his eyes unfocused and dazed, looking like a confused puppy.

“Drinking?” Shi Ji murmured. “Since you like it so much, why not drink a little more?”

His tone was neutral, but Jiang Mo, thinking he was angry, rushed to explain. “No, no! He accidentally drank a beverage that contained alcohol. The percentage wasn’t high, but for some reason, he got drunk instantly.”

Jiang Mo scratched his head. “He’s a bit… wild when he’s drunk. He tried to snatch more drinks, and then he kept trying to take my phone. He said ‘Brother’ would call him, so he just sat there guarding the phone. But you never called.”

Shi Ji looked down; Li Chen was indeed deathly gripping a phone in his hand.

“We didn’t know what else to do, so we brought him home.”

“Brother, I—Ow!!”

Before Jiang Mo could finish, Li Chen pinched his arm hard. “I told you, he’s my brother!” Li Chen bared his teeth like a small, feral animal.

“Sorry! I said it wrong!” Jiang Mo raised his hands in surrender.

Usually moody, the little Omega was now being outright unreasonable. Jiang Mo tried to get his phone back, but Li Chen dodged him with agility. Eventually, the tall Alpha was left panting, unable to retrieve his device.

“Mr. Shi, I have to go home or my mom will kill me,” Jiang Mo pleaded.

Shi Ji sighed. “You can go,” he told his driver, who disappeared into the shadows. Then he turned to the boys. He pulled out his own phone and dialed the number that had called him earlier.

Immediately, the phone in Li Chen’s hand rang. He jolted as if waking up, shoved Jiang Mo aside, and answered.

Shi Ji stood half a meter away, watching the boy hold the phone to his ear with both hands, listening intently to Shi Ji’s breathing. The moon emerged from the clouds, casting a cold white light over them.

Shi Ji composed his face into a cold mask. “If you don’t come in now, don’t ever come back,” he said into the phone.

Li Chen’s eyes widened. His fingers trembled. He dropped the phone into Jiang Mo’s lap, turned, and sprinted into the villa.

Jiang Mo blinked. “He… he’s actually very obedient,” he stammered.

Shi Ji ignored him and chased after Li Chen.

By the time Shi Ji got upstairs, Li Chen had already slammed his bedroom door shut. The servants were trembling at the “outrageous” behavior of the boy.

“Mr. Shi, that brat dared to slam the door… please punish him,” a male servant whispered.

“You’re right,” Shi Ji nodded. “He does need punishment.”

He opened the door to the dark room. A cold wind blew through the open window, fluttering the curtains. As he stepped inside, the wind slammed the door shut behind him.

He couldn’t see Li Chen. Where did the kid go?

As he reached for the light switch, a sudden surge of heat pressed against his back. A hand grabbed his collar and yanked him backward. Shi Ji was slammed against the wall; the impact on his shoulder blades brought tears to his eyes.

He gasped in pain. Li Chen appeared in front of him, pressing his hands against Shi Ji’s shoulders. Before Shi Ji could react, Li Chen leaned in.

Then, he reached out his tongue and licked away the tear hanging on Shi Ji’s cheek.

The sensation was warm, soft, and damp. In the silence of the room, the sound of the wet contact was enough to make one’s ears turn red. The boy was so close that his hot breath fanned over Shi Ji’s eyelids.

Shi Ji’s mind went blank. The heat from Li Chen’s palms seemed to burn through his clothes. As a second tear escaped, Li Chen leaned in again, his tongue skillfully curling away the crystal drop.

The strange touch made Shi Ji’s heart hammer. His legs felt weak; he had to grab the fabric of Li Chen’s shirt just to keep from collapsing.

In the dark, he could see Li Chen’s chaotic, clouded eyes. His body temperature was rising—a result of the gland beneath the skin of his nape.

Li Chen sniffed the air. Shi Ji was covered in various scents—tobacco, incense, and a sharp Alpha scent of Scotch. But there was no scent of his pheromones.

Possessiveness flared in Li Chen’s chest. Shi Ji had gone to see another Alpha behind his back. Between the jealousy and the alcohol, a fire was raging through his veins.

Li Chen leaned in until his nose was pressed against Shi Ji’s neck. He could feel the pulse of the artery. He stared at that patch of skin, thinking that if he bit down now, his pheromones would flood Shi Ji’s entire body. His “brother” would die in his arms, smelling of him.

Shi Ji felt the boy’s breathing quicken and felt a flash of genuine fear. Li Chen tilted his head and licked the side of Shi Ji’s neck with force.

Shi Ji shivered and began to struggle, pushing against Li Chen’s chest. “Let me go!” he hissed, his face flushing. “If you don’t stop… I won’t be kind to you.”

It was a toothless threat, like a kitten swatting with soft paws.

Li Chen looked up, his misty-blue eyes full of mock innocence. “Will you throw me away?” he whispered.

The question caught Shi Ji off guard. Before he could answer, Li Chen pulled him closer, pinning their bodies together.

“Will you throw me away?” Li Chen repeated, his voice more urgent. The scent of iris erupted into the dark room as his suppressive patch failed. His heart was racing, his mind clouded by alcohol, but he needed an answer.

Shi Ji pushed at him, even stepping on his feet. “I’ll say it one more time,” he gasped, his eyes stinging. “Let go.”

Li Chen stared at him. “Answer me first.”

Shi Ji let out a cold snort. “Yes. I told you, you’re just a dog to me. If I’m unhappy, I’ll throw you out anytime.”

Li Chen didn’t look away. “Really?”

“Real—”

Before he could finish, Li Chen pulled him into a crushing embrace. One hand pressed the back of Shi Ji’s head into his shoulder, while the other moved to Shi Ji’s back. Slowly, his finger traced words onto Shi Ji’s spine:

—You aren’t him.

You aren’t the original Shi Ji. That’s why you pity me. That’s why you care.

“You can’t throw me away,” Li Chen whispered, a hint of a laugh in his throat. “Don’t forget, I told you that only I can smell the scent on you. I can find you. Anywhere.”

His fingers moved to the back of Shi Ji’s neck, pressing into the skin.

Betas have glands too, but they are small, shriveled, and useless—they produce no intoxicating pheromones. However, they are still packed with nerves. Li Chen’s kneading made Shi Ji’s neck feel itchy and painful.

To stop the “puppy” from doing more damage, Shi Ji reached up and found the location of Li Chen’s gland. He pressed down hard.

Li Chen let out a sharp gasp. The pheromones in the room thickened instantly. His face grew even redder. As a “low-grade” Omega, he lacked the organs to conceive, so his “heat” wasn’t as severe as a normal Omega’s, but it was still a torture of longing.

He was caught in a “heat cycle” that usually required an Alpha’s touch, yet here he was, being driven mad by a Beta.

“Are you in heat?” Shi Ji realized something was wrong. “There’s no suppressant here.”

“No,” Li Chen rasped. “Not heat.”

He was shaking. He took Shi Ji’s hand and pressed it against his cheek, letting out a low moan.

“Can you… kiss me? Or… touch me?”

The request was absurd, bordering on a plea. Shi Ji pushed his head away. “Get away from me!”

But the Omega, despite being barely able to stand, held on with terrifying strength. He kissed Shi Ji’s palm, and when Shi Ji tried to pull away, he leaned in and licked Shi Ji’s lips.

Shi Ji froze. The warmth on his lips shattered his composure. Li Chen began to kiss and lick his mouth, his tongue tracing Shi Ji’s lips before greedily sucking on the center of his upper lip.

Li Chen stared at him throughout the kiss. He used his teeth to nip at the sensitive skin until it was swollen and red. Shi Ji let out a muffled groan, his fingers reflexively clutching Li Chen’s back.

The kiss was fierce and desperate, as if Li Chen wanted to take him apart and eat him.

Is this really an Omega? Why is he more aggressive than an Alpha?

Shi Ji felt like his lungs were burning. He finally managed to grab Li Chen’s hair and pull him away. He covered his swollen mouth, and with a sudden burst of strength, he grabbed the back of Li Chen’s collar and dragged the boy into the bathroom.

He grabbed the showerhead, turned it on, and drenched Li Chen from head to toe with cold water.

Li Chen sat on the floor, soaked. He blinked and looked up at Shi Ji.

Shi Ji’s face was flushed, his red lips glistening. “Stay here and calm down,” he snapped. “Don’t stand up until you’ve cleared your head.”